Leave It to Chance
by miki725
Summary: By chance, they meet and part ways. By chance, they reunite. What else can happen by chance? Should we rely on these random chances or should we take action?
1. The Mistaken Culprit

**Chapter 1 – The Mistaken Culprit**

Ouran Academy was a prestigious institution for children from wealthy families. Amongst them was the one and only commoner, Fujioka Haruhi. Extremely noticeable in her drabby, worn out sweater, chunky glasses and messy hair, the poor (relatively speaking) scholarship student was trying to find a quiet place to study. She stumbled upon an unused music room, which was where she found the host club.

"Welcome to Ouran Host Club!" a group of voice said.

After a sequence of insults (of being a commoner) and disastrous events, Haruhi ended up as the dog of the Host Club.

* * *

"Sorry for not buying expensive coffee nuts, I'll go and buy them again now" Haruhi said sarcastically after returning with instant coffee. '_Rich bastards'_ she thought.

"No wait, I'm going to try it!" Tamaki exclaimed.

A round of applause and gasps followed. Instant coffee to them was poor people coffee since they can't afford the time to grind coffee beans. Everyone was curious as to what it would taste like as they were only used to the best.

A red haired girl was sitting on the couch instead of surrounding Tamaki as he made his 'brave' proclamation.

"There's no way the coffee bought by a lowly commoner would suit Tamaki-sama's tastes" she said quietly.

"Huh?" Haruhi turned towards her.

"Excuse me. I'm just talking to myself" she replied with a gentle smile.

"Ah" Before Haruhi could say anything further, she was interrupted to perform the magical task of making instant coffee.

* * *

Once again, due to the dramatic nature that is the Host club, Haruhi was promoted from doing trivial chores to a host. Being accepted by customers quickly and easily, she was categorized to being a natural rookie.

"Haruhi, come here. Meet my customer, Ayanokouji-hime"

"Hai"

When she got there, she realized it was the red-head from yesterday. Not knowing what to do, she smiled and said hi.

Tamaki's overreaction with Haruhi's cuteness irritated Ayanokouji greatly. She glared over at the scene where Tamaki was attempting to glomp Haruhi and asking her to "return to otousan's arms".

* * *

"Oh man, I thought there wouldn't be bullying at this school" Haruhi gasped as she looked out the window and saw her belongings in the water fountain.

She ran quickly to retrieve them as along the way, she ran past Ayanokouji again.

"Ara, it's you. Aren't you glad you now look tidy thanks to Tamaki-sama, ne? Maybe you should fix your ill-bred nature too" and with that, Ayanokouji walked away.

Haruhi continued downstairs to the fountain to get her things back.

"I'm pretty sure she is the culprit. But regardless of her reason, I need to find my wallet, otherwise tonight's dinner…" Haruhi thought out loud, until she was interrupted by footsteps.

"Daijoubu?" a girl asked with a quiet, uninterested tone.

"Ah, I just dropped my things in here by accident. Don't worry about it"

"Ah sou" she replied briskly.

'_I think that girl is in my class. She rarely speaks and I've never even spoken to her until now. How strange though. The girls that visit the host club would've overreacted over something like this, and other girls wouldn't even talk to me. She asked, but she sounded uninterested…wait, now isn't the time to think of stupid things… where is my wallet…'_ Haruhi thought as she continued to search in the water.

"Yo Commoner! You've got some guts to skip club activities! What are you doing?" This time it was Tamaki. The girl saw Tamaki approaching, turned and walked away. "Hmm, who was that? I've never seen her before" he asked.

"Ah, I dropped my bag in the water by accident. That was a girl in my class, she was walking by"

"And she didn't even help" Tamaki huffed as he got into the water with his pants rolled up and his hands reached in.

With Tamaki's help, she found her wallet and did not have to starve for the evening. Everything was okay, or so she thought.

* * *

Tamaki returned to the host club and was having a meeting, without Haruhi. She had gone to clean up her belongings, after the water damage.

"I'm telling you, I'm sure she was the one who did it! What a coincidence she was 'walking by'. She left right when she saw me coming! Haruhi was just trying to keep it a secret for her"

"Ne, tono. Who are you even talking about?" the twins chimed.

"She's in your class too! Long, straight black hair, with glasses? I've never really seen her around before though… maybe she's new?"

"Hmmm, oh her. She's not new. We've had the same class with her since middle school. She doesn't talk to anyone at all and always has headphones in her ears so no one approaches her. In otherwords, she's a LONER" the twins answered in monotone.

"I know she did it! My poor Haruhi is being bullied by the loner! She must be jealous! Even though my Haruhi is a commoner, he is even more popular than her! Better social skills than her! Prettier than her!" Tamaki continued to ramble on.

"That girl must be really mean to do something like that to Haru-chan! Poor Haru-chan… Ne, Takashi?" Hani cried.

"Ah" Mori's infamous response.

"Todo Shizuka. Related to the Todo Group who mainly specializes in hotels, resorts and other luxuries. However, she is not the heir, nor in the main branch of the family. Thus, has no power and is unimportant. Doesn't like socializing with anyone, listens to music and studies during free time on campus. In otherwords, a social outcast. That isn't exactly surprising considering her dull looks" Kyoya said as he read out of his notebook.

The twins simply stood on the side and started giggling at the insults made to their classmate.

"Someone like her who hasn't been noticed since middle school…" Hikaru said.

"…is probably unlikely the culprit to Haruhi's bullying" continued by Kaoru.

"Baka tono!" they joined together and said.

Tamaki froze and went into his corner of woe.

"Ah, gomen tono…. But I guess it was mean of her not to help" they tried to cheer him up again.

Right at this moment Haruhi rushes in, "Sorry I'm late again"

"Ah Haruhi! Sorry Otousan is so uselss! GOMEN HARUHI!" Tamaki runs to Haruhi crying and whimpering.

"Hai?" She replies, confused over what he was even talking about.

"Hate to disturb your self-blaming moment, but we are about to open" Kyoya declared.

* * *

Tamaki is clearly not Sherlock Holmes as he completely missed the mark on the culprit. It had obviously been Ayanokouji after she pulled Haruhi towards her intentionally and attempted to frame Haruhi for attacking her. Her punishment was being banned from the host club and Haruhi's requests were raised from a hundred to a thousand customers.

At the end of the day, all the lightbulbs were finally lit. Haruhi was indeed a girl.


	2. And So They Meet

**Chapter 2 – And so they meet**

The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for a stroll n the park, which was exactly what Kyoya was doing. However, he was extremely irritated. The reason being Tamaki had dragged him out of bed early morning about going to experience commoner family activities. He had been left on a bench whilst he was sleeping without his wallet or his phone. After waking up, he was currently trying to figure out where he was.

Walking around, he realized he was at some sort of park and might as well walk around and try to find them. _'How big can it be'_ he thought to himself, as well as mumbling "Tamaki must die" over and over again. It wasn't exactly the best way to enjoy the day; he was radiating a horrifying, intimidating presence scaring nearby children, as well as adults.

"Wow, I wouldn't want to be this Tamaki person" a voice said behind him.

Kyoya turned around and saw a girl around his age giggling. He raised an eyebrow at her, he was radiating a scary aura and yet this girl came up to him, laughing nonetheless.

"It's such a beautiful day today, Tamaki must've done something really bad to get you this pissed off" she continued.

"Well, when an idiot drags you out of bed, sleeping I might add, leaves you on a bench without money or a phone, and waking up clueless to where you are, I'm sure you would want him dead too" Kyoya explained brusquely.

She laughed out loud, "That is pretty bad, you're at Ueno Zoo by the way" and she stopped for a moment, seemingly to think. "How about this, instead of scaring children more than the animals, I'll show you around for the day, make up for Tamaki so he doesn't have to die a horrible death, and maybe we'll run into your friends?" she resumed.

'_I'd much rather go home, but I really want to kill Tamaki' _Kyoya thought to himself. "What's in this for you? You don't even know Tamaki, why do you care?"

She tilted her head, finger on her chin, trying to think. "Some company? I'm here to enjoy the weather and environment. Look around, you're not exactly creating a fun atmosphere"

He was surprised, she really isn't afraid of him, even provoking him further while he was in "low pressure demon lord" mode. He was reluctant and suspicious of her intentions. People were only nice and offering with some reward in mind. But she didn't seem to know who he was, _'probably a commoner'_, there wasn't much risk. His stomach then grumbled loudly.

She tried to stifle a giggle, "How about some lunch while you decide whether to take up my offer? It'll be my treat. It's nice to have some company for once"

"Sure, I'll make sure Tamaki pays you ten times back when I get my hands on him"

"Sounds good. There, I got something out of it" she giggled some more.

* * *

They decided to go to a café inside the zoo. It was a simply decorated café, not something Kyoya was used to, but it had a comforting ambiance that he didn't seem to mind.

He stared at the menu, although not especially expensive, it wasn't necessarily cheap either. He was rather hungry and wasn't sure about his current companion's financial situation. _'I wonder if she can afford it, what should I order? I should order something that is cheaper and would fill me up longer …'_

Seeing Kyoya staring intently at the menu, she said "Don't worry, order whatever you want. I'm not that poor, I can manage to afford food. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken you here right? Just enjoy it" It was like she had read his mind.

Their food arrived soon after and began to eat. Kyoya who was especially hungry ate rather quickly, while the girl smiled and ate her food politely. For once, he appreciate company. Under the circumstances in which he met this girl, he expected worse from a commoner. She managed to decrease some of his irritance with her outgoing personality and was very well-mannered as he noticed while she ate.

After dessert, which Kyoya declined, she offered "Would you like to call your friends? I'm sure they must've noticed you being gone and is worried by now"

She took her phone out of her purse and handed it to Kyoya. A regular looking phone, not the latest models but a decent phone. _'Most probably a commoner thing. Like Haruhi can't even afford one, she has one but not the latest' _He observed.

"Thanks, please excuse me for a moment. Wouldn't want to cause a scene while I scream at him"

She simply smiled and gave a nod of consent. Kyoya stood up and walked outside.

"Hi! You've reached Suou Tamaki! I'm SOOOO sorry I missed your call! Please leave me a message! I promise I'll call you back as soon as possible!"

He groaned at Tamaki's over-enthusiastic voicemail, he didn't remember the others' phone numbers. He decided to leave a message.

"You. Are. So. Dead. It's Kyoya, I'm going to murder you when I find you and feed you to the lions. I borrowed someone's phone since I don't have any of my belongings, courtesy of a certain blonde idiot. Call me back before I think of worse things to do to you"

He returned inside the café and returned the phone to the girl. As he was about to sit down, she stood up.

"So? Ready to go? The bill has been taken care of. Where are you meeting them?"

"Thanks, how much was it? I'll pay you back once we find Tamaki. Unfortunately, I have to delay his death since he didn't pick up. I left him a message to call back, you don't mind do you?"

"Nope, it's fine. Lunch is on me, it wasn't much anyways. So you want to go with me until he calls back?"

He simply nods his head and thus, the unknown girl and Kyoya began exploring the zoo. As irritated as he was before, he slowly loosened up. The girl got excited about every animal she discovered and pulled him along with her as she ran towards them.

"Is this your first time to a zoo? You're even more hyper than the children. They're just animals, as cute as they are in a cage, they are dirty, wild and feral beasts" Kyoya remarked.

"I'm starting to see why your friend left you on a bench! Just relax and have some fun. You overthink too much, stop using that brain of yours!"

"I can see you're not using yours" he retorted.

Instead of being offended by his insult, she smiled and mouthed a "nope!". He couldn't help but smirk at her reaction. The girls at his school would've probably ran away crying if he had said that to them. He needed to remain polite with them at all times, putting on 'host mode' but this girl was no one important, he needn't bother.

"Let's go! I wanna see the ressa pandas!" she grabbed his hand and dragged him as she ran towards the ressa panda habitat.

Once they reached the ressa pandas, he realized she never let go of his hand. Strangely enough, he didn't have the intention to do so either. He watched her squeel at the sight of the adorable, furry creatures.

* * *

Time flew by and the sun was beginning to set, illuminating the sky in shades of red and amber. They sat on a bench near the exit, hoping to see Tamaki and the rest of them when they left.

"That wasn't so bad, was it? Letting you brain take a day off is good for you. And you don't feel like killing your friend anymore!"

"At least not as much" he mumbled, as she smiled at him.

"I never got your name. Give me your contacts and I'll be sure to return the favour" he asked.

She gently shook her head. He looked surprised. Normaly, people approached him with intentions of getting something in return, his number, a reward, a date. She declined him multiple times during the day whenever he offered as well as now, even her name.

"At least tell me your name, I'm …", before he could finish, she put her hand over his mouth. Kyoya simply glared at her in annoyance.

"We met by chance, and sometimes it's just nice to spend a day without any pressures. Being pure strangers, we don't pre-judge each other based on family, backgrounds and such. We can just get to know the person without external influences. If we do ever meet again, then I'll trust that this was a good chance and I'll tell you my name then. Otherwise, we'll have memories of spending a good day together to remember by"

"One thing I learnt about you is, you are one stubborn girl"

She was about to retort when her phone rang and she crinkled her nose at the unknown number trying to think who it might be. Her face lit up and she handed the phone to him.

"I believe it is probably your friend. I'm going to the washroom, I'll be right back"

He nodded, and she walked towards the washrooms.

After hanging up with Tamaki, they were to meet at the exit as the zoo was about to close. He entered his phone number into her phone quickly as he saw her returning.

"We're going to meet here. Would you like a ride home? Or to the train station?"

"No thanks. Then I'll going to take my leave. I had a good time today, thank you for your company. Maybe we'll meet again someday" she waved as she slowly walked away.

"I don't believe in chance" he added.

"We'll see! Bye!"she smiled and waved once more.

He stood and watched her until he could no longer see her. He was then interrupted by multiple voices.

"Kyoya!" There was Tamaki.

"Kyo-chan!" There was Hani-senpai and a quiet Mori-senpai beside him.

"Kyoya-senpai" There were the twins.

He pushed his glasses up his nose and light reflected off of them, hiding his eyes. They all quickly hid behind Mori in fear, poking their head out.

"You're all lucky someone very stubborn convinced me not to kill you all" he sighed. "Let's go home before I change my mind"

They all looked at each other in confusion, "Kyoya! Who? Mom! What are you hiding from me?" Tamaki said as they all bombarded him with questions as to who he was referring to. He simply ignored them and walked towards the limo to end a very long, but interesting day.


	3. The Twins' New Game

**Chapter 3 – The Twins' New Game**

It was another boring day at Ouran Academy for Todou Shizuka. During class, she paid half of her attention by staring at the board and the other half, doodling in her notebook. In the eyes of others, you looked like she was paying full attention and writing detailed notes. She was the nerd, the social outcast, unnoticeable.

Most students aimed to be popular during high school, wanting to be the center of attention. This was especially significant for students of such wealthy stature in a prestigious academy with their fellow rich classmates. Many were future presidents of major corporations in Japan, creating connections with others during this time was crucial. It suited her just fine though; being invisible was something she strived to be.

After being at Ouran all these years, her classmates have learnt to not attempt to speak to her. Sticking headphones in your ear was a definite way to discourage those who tried. Sometimes she really couldn't hear them, and sometimes she just pretended she couldn't.

Shizuka wasn't pretty, with dull, straight black hair and long bangs and hid her lifeless, plain eyes behind large glasses. During breaks and lunch, she puts her music on and makes her way to an unknown part of campus. She had found a shelter in the rose bushes where she spends her time eating, reading or finishing her homework for the day.

Little did she know, her 2 simple word exchanges with Haruhi the other day, would soon interrupt her quiet routine.

* * *

The Spring Dance Party organized by the Host Club was coming up and Haruhi was busy practicing ballroom dancing with Kasugasaki Kanako, a customer of hers. Tamaki was moping in a corner since he couldn't be her practice dance partner due to his height. Hani was busy eating cakes with Mori sitting beside him. Kyoya doing, whatever he was always doing with his notebook. The Twins were sitting beside the window, bored as they had nothing better to do.

"Hmm, now that we have Haruhi as a new host, we should advertise this. There may be potential customers that were not attracted by our current hosts, and are attracted by Haruhi's natural style. This could really bring in more customers and thereby raise profits by…" Kyoya said, mainly thinking out loud to himself.

The twins were staring out the window when they saw a familiar figure. As usual, Shizuka was walking towards her secret place. Normally, she wouldn't have been seen by the twins as they were hosting at this time, but today, the host club was temporarily closed for Haruhi's practice.

"Oh really, Kyoya-sempai. Maybe we can help..." the twins said with a mischievous smile on their faces.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at their sudden enthusiasm, knowing nothing good would probably come out of this. But the twins had huddled together secretively.

"Ne Kaoru, let's make a new game" Hikaru whispered.

"The 'Get Todou to Visit the Host Club' Game"

"Whoever can get her to visit any of the events first, wins"

"No other rules except that she comes willingly, not forced" Kaoru stated.

Hikaru feigned a hurt expression, "We don't force, we simply _trick_"

Hikaru and Kaoru was trying to stifle their laughter from being excited of having a new game since Haruhi was busy to be annoyed and Tamaki was already whimpering in his corner.

"Hika-chan and Kao-chan seem to be having fun, ne Takashi?" Hani said smiling happily eating his table full of cakes.

"Ah" Mori replied, as usual.

"I better start preparing a side budget for whatever damage they will cause from this…" Kyoya sighed.

* * *

Back in class, Hikaru and Kaoru had started playing their game. They were currently trying to get Shizuka's attention. They sat around the middle of the classroom, where Shizuka sat closer to the back near a window.

Watching the teacher in the front and doodling as per usual, she was shocked when she saw the twins staring at her with a strange grin on their faces. She looked around praying it wasn't her they were looking at, but with no prevail. She ignored them and directed her gaze back towards the lesson.

Realizing they were being ignored, Hikaru wrote a note and passed it back to her.

**Ne, what are you doing after class today? We should get to know each other better after all these years in class together.**

**- Hikaru**

She opened it, read it and threw it into the nearby garbage. Then resumed her "note taking" as if nothing had happened at all.

Hikaru's shoulders dropped in annoyance of his failure, Kaoru saw and stifled a giggle. He mouthed a "fail" to his older twin and in return, received a glare.

* * *

Within the rows and rows of books in one of Ouran's many libraries, Shizuka was looking for a book for her upcoming assignment.

'_Arg, where is that darn book! You'd think with all the students chatting here, the book should be on the shelves… ah-ha! Found you' _she thought.

She saw a glimpse of the book on the top shelf, then looking nearby for a chair, or a ladder, or something so that she could grasp the book. The ladder was currently being used by another student, not wanting to stay any longer in case someone decided to start interacting with her, she stretched her arm as long as possible hoping she would be able reach it.

'_Come on, come on.. just a little bit more'_

Normally even when people say that, they are nowhere near what they are trying to get. It was like magic words that would make the object automatically come closer. Unfortunately, this was reality and Shizuka was failing to grab a hold of the book. Until a hand reached over her and took it out.

"Was this what you were trying to get?"

She turned to see who it was. It was one of the twins that had been looking at her funny the other day. He was leaning awfully close to her face. She wasn't sure if it were the same one that had passed her the note, but it didn't make a difference to her.

"Thank you" she said in a monotone, took the book from his hands and walked away.

Kaoru had expectedly her to blush due to the close contact, which most social outcasts or shy girls would have done. He had used some of his host skills; any girl should have screamed "moeeee" by now. Yet she had near zero reaction.

"Bu-bu. Too bad, please try again" Hikaru popped out and said like a host on a game show, doing an 'X' with his arms.

"Che, at least I got a word out of her, whereas you got ignored" Kaoru retorted.

"Ne, Kaoru"

"Mmm, Nani Hikaru?"

"Isn't it odd? She's not an outcast because she's afraid of people or shy…" Hikaru started.

"…it's more like she doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone" Kaoru finished.

"It's going to be a challenge…"

"…But definitely worth it"

They looked at each other with anticipating and determined eyes, both wanting to win this new 'game' of theirs.


	4. Kyoya, the Cheater

**Chapter 4 – Kyoya, the Cheater**

For the upcoming spring dance party, Kyoya had been busy with the arrangements. Food, decorations, clothing, guests and so forth. Haruhi was practicing with Kasugasaki, Tamaki sulking, Hani eating cake, Mori sitting there and twins doing some sort of scheming. It was as usual as it could get.

However, it was Kyoya. He was always prepared for anything thrown at him since he was in a club with TAMAKI. That really speaks for itself.

He was sitting at his usual table, with his laptop in front of him. Most of the planning had really been done since the dance was less than a week away. The only things left to do were to confirm the bookings and orders, but that really didn't have to be done until the day before the dance.

Recently, Kyoya had been distracted. None other than, by his phone. What is so interesting about it you may ask? It was not new, nor broken. He was waiting for a certain response from it. Not the phone itself, but from a certain someone.

'_She either hasn't discovered that I put my number in her phone, or she is stubborn enough to ignore it until we meet again, by chance as she puts it'_ Kyoya thought.

Not that he would let any of the others know, but he had been expecting a response from the girl he had met the other day, at the zoo. He was the one that had the contacts and information on everyone, but this time, he had nothing. He had tried, but without even her name, it was practically impossible to find anything.

* * *

After Fuyumi had once again raided his room, attempting to reorganize and clean it for him, Kyoya was feeling extremely tired. It wasn't that he hated her company, but she was, overwhelming. Deciding to call it a night, he went to the upper level of his room, towards his bed.

He got into bed, taking off his glasses and closed his eyes. A few peaceful minutes passed, until…

RINGRINGRING

"Arg, who's calling me at this ungodly hour?" He groaned as he picked up the phone.

"Kyoya!"

"Tamaki… what do you want?" He growled.

"Oh, were you sleeping already?"

"YES. If it's not important, I'm hanging up"

"I was thinking if Haruhi…"

Call ended. Kyoya really hung up on him. Laying down once again, he closed his eyes.

BEEP BEEP YOU HAVE A MESSAGE BEEP BEEP

"I SWEAR, HE JUST DOESN'T KNOW WHEN TO STOP"

He picked up his phone, and turned it off.

"There, no more Tamaki" he smirked and plopped right into bed.

For the rest of the night, Kyoya was able to sleep without anymore distractions. He was the low pressure demon lord after all, he needed his beauty sleep.

* * *

Next morning, on his way to school, Kyoya turned his phone back on.

"Let's see what was so 'important' that after I hang up on him, that he had to send a message"

_**Busted! We weren't supposed to contact each other until we met again by chance! We made a deal! Cheater Kyoya! =)**_

Kyoya thought for a moment. 'What is Tamaki going on about… I vaguely remember him saying something about Haruhi…'

He read it again, one more time. It wasn't Tamaki's number that he had received a message from, it was unknown. This could only mean... he smirked.

_You finally caught on. Well since you have my name and number, it seems only fair that I get yours. I need to save your number under something…_

**_It's Shiori. That's all you get. No more ruining the fun of chance!_**

_I told you that I didn't believe in chance. _

_**That's just too bad, because I do! =P**_

_Besides, I still owe you from the other day. This is the only way I could make sure I'd be able to get a hold of you. Better late than never I suppose._

_**I told you it was my treat, don't worry about it. Hey! You're lucky I decided to even message you at all!**_

_This is still part of the "getting to know each other without external influences". It fits into your purpose of leaving it to chance, does it not?_

_**I suppose so. I'm going to be careful about what I say, so don't even try to make me slip up and tell you more! No specific locations or anything! **_

_If you slip up, it's not because I did something, it would probably be your "brain taking a day off"._

_**OH ha-ha very funny. Until we meet again, do we have a deal?**_

_Very well, deal._

_** Alright then, I have to head to class soon. Talk later?**_

_Sure. Goodbye, Shiori._

And that was the end of that. He had also just arrived on campus, what perfect timing. Kyoya got his long awaited response from her. Although until now, he doesn't really know why he cared. His only explanation was that he owed this random stranger a favour, and that he was curious as to why she is so opposed in him doing so.

'_Spending too much time with Tamaki, makes me think weird' _Kyoya thought as he made his way towards his classroom.

"Shiori… ka. I finally got her name" He mumbled, with a small smile.


	5. Win or Bust

**Chapter 5 – Win or Bust**

**

* * *

**

Another week had gone by. The twins had been indefinitely persistent on this new little game of theirs, namely Shizuka. As much as Haruhi tried to help her, since we are talking about the twins, it was virtually impossible.

It was their first year of high school. Group work is unavoidable, but luckily for Shizuka, no other students dared or wished to approach her. Therefore she was either left alone, which she preferred, or was forced into a group and simply did all the work to avoid any social contact. Up until now that is.

"Everyone get into groups of four and begin the lab experiments on the handout"

Shizuka slowly stood up, walked over to an empty table and began reading the instructions. She frowned at the noise surrounding her, but she was not allowed her music during class. How she wished she could plug her ears to block out the music... or block their mouths.

"I wish they would pick me, I designate the twins every day!"

"Kyaaaa~ Haruhi-kun!"

The other girls in the class were giggling and whispering, hoping they would be the "lucky one" to be in a group with Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi.

The "lucky one" happened to be Shizuka, as the twins dragging Haruhi, literally, and walked over the table she was sitting at.

"Yo Todou! We can work together…" Hikaru began.

"…and get to know each other better, ne?" Kaoru finished

She glanced up with annoyance to see the Cheshire cat smiles on their faces and Haruhi's sympathetic smile.

"Tsk. I don't know what sick game you two are up to, but if I were you, I'd stop before it gets out of hand. Why you suddenly find me interesting is beyond me" she hissed.

"Ditto" Haruhi says.

Hikaru and Kaoru continued smirking.

"We are offended, is that how you think of us?"

"Yea, we just want to be friendly classmates, that's all"

"I highly doubt that. Anyways, you all can work on your own lab while I do mine, might I add, alone." Shizuka retorted.

"Double ditto" Haruhi added.

Fortunately for Shizuka, they followed her instructions and began the lab on their own. Unfortunately for Haruhi, she remained a group with the twins as she was part of the "friendly classmate trio".

* * *

Towards the end of class, the chemical mixture in Shizuka's beaker began to bubble and flow rather rapidly out of its container. To say the least, she was shocked, as well as the teacher.

"Todou-san! What happened? This is the first time you've made such a mistake! You must have put in another chemical by accident to make it react this way. Please make sure you clean up before you leave class"

"Oh no, it's spilling all over the place"

"The tensai made a mistake, what a surprise"

The twins commented in their regular monotone sarcastic voice. Haruhi rolled her eyes at them and began to help Shizuka with the mess.

Shizuka quickly glared at them in annoyance, knowing that they had done something to it while she wasn't looking. She didn't say a word but began to clean up.

"_Stupid twins, whatever game they are playing, I'm not going to fall for it." _She thought.

"I can clean it up on my own, it's MY mess after all" she said to Haruhi.

"It's okay. I know somehow or another, the twins had something to do with it"

The chemicals had dispersed on to the floor and all over the counter tops, she had to clean very thoroughly since they were chemicals after all. While doing so, the bell signaling the end of class and beginning of lunch had rung. Her classmates ran out of class as fast as she could, while Haruhi stayed back to continue helping.

"I'm going to get a bucket, it will be much quicker" Haruhi said.

As she stood up, a bucket appeared in front of her. It was Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Here you go" they chimed.

She gratefully took it and handed it to Shizuka, who quietly thanked her. The twins then started to help and they finished much quicker than she would have alone.

She grabbed her belongings and walked towards the door.

"That's it? Not even a thank you?" Hikaru said.

"How rude and ungrateful" Kaoru followed.

Before Haruhi could smack them for being rude themselves, Shizuka spoke.

"In what strange world does the victim apologize to the saboteurs? How obsurd. But thank you Fujioka-san for your help"

They gave her the "we didn't do anything" look, but obviously caught red-handed. She opened the door, and before she left, she added;

"Please stop approaching me. I don't want to know any of you better, nor do I even care. Stupid little tricks like these hoping that I would be grateful and bow to your feet is not going to work. It may work on the other brainless girls here, but not on me"

And with that, she left them with their jaws hanging. She had seen through their game. On most occasions and most normal people, they would've taken a hint and given up. However, these were the Twins. It just fired up their spirits, making them want to win her over even more. Haruhi simply sighed at the sight of them.

* * *

Soon came the day of the dreaded annual physical examination, at least for the host club members. Afraid that Haruhi's true gender would be exposed to the entire school, they had formed tactics to avoid it. After some motivation from ootoro, Haruhi was finally in on their plans.

Thanks to Tamaki's powerful inner-mind theater, he imagined Haruhi and him to be the main characters of the love story, while the rest of them were called the "homo-homo side characters".

Thus, this lead to bogus formations and plans, such as Hani and Mori dressing up as doctors in a poor attempt to "blend in" in case of emergencies, as well as Tamaki dressing up as Haruhi. Of course all plans failed miserably, since it was mainly revenge to Tamaki, for calling them "homo-homo side characters".

After their fun, they learned that Kyoya had made arrangements for Haruhi with the special male student doctor in a private room. Discovering a "pervert" heading towards that room, the rest of the host club members rushed towards it.

In too much of a frantic, Hani and Mori ran into Shizuka, who just came out of the special female student doctor's room.

"Ah! Gomenasai ne! Daijoubu?" Hani asked, while Mori helped her up.

Shizuka saw them and swiftly hid her face under her long bangs. She simply nodded her head a few times, grabbed her things and ran off.

"Was that…?"

"Shi" Mori answered plainly.

"Looks different, but there's something that made me think of Shi"

Mori didn't answer Hani, but looked in the direction she ran off to. They both stood in silence, thinking deeply to themselves.

The rest of them, slower than the martial arts specialists, saw Shizuka run by when they had met up with the two third years.

"Did something happen?" Kyoya asked since the two were particularly out of it.

"Mm, nothing. Ne, Takashi?"

"Ahh"

"Well, then we should get to Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed.

* * *

**A/N: Special thanks to XXXmy3XXX and PurpleSkye, who motivated me to update as well as giving me pointers about writing fanfics.**


	6. Trustworthiness

**Chapter 6 – Trustworthiness  
**

After school at the prestigious Ouran High school, its infamous host club was having a meeting before they opened for business.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave early today. My family is having dinner with a very important business partner from France and there are things that I must do" Kyoya said.

"Don't worry, we will be fine without you! I am the KING after all" Tamaki replied.

"Oh, I don't plan on relying on you. With you left in charge, we should be glad that we didn't lose any money, let alone hope to earn a profit"

A bolt of lightning hit Tamaki and he slowly withered into his corner of woe mumbling "Okaasan doesn't trust me, okaasan hates me"

"Haruhi"

"Haaii, Kyoyaa-sennpaaii" Haruhi slowly stumbled to reply. Although it wasn't a big deal that Kyoya was gone for the day, she had a really bad feeling that if anything were to happen, she'd ultimately be held responsible. And with all the expensive things and not to mention mischievous twins, her debt was bound to increase.

"You shall be in charge to make sure everything is in order. If anything were to happen.."

"You will add it to my debt, I know… I know" Haruhi groaned.

"Very well. For you to strive towards having a peaceful day, I shall reduce your debt by 20% if nothing bad were to happen" Kyoya added.

"With these twins, that will be the impossible dream" She sighed again.

* * *

Dinner had to go perfect. It was with an important business partner of the Ootori Group, and with his father's high standards, Kyoya had to prepare well beyond his expectations.

Reservations for a private dining room had been made at a high-class hotel restaurant with the menu set and confirmed. To be a little over the top, he had researched the Houshakuji family and decided to purchase gifts.

He had found out the President of the Houshakuji Group had a daughter, Houshakuji Renge. She was an only child and has an obsession with games.

"_Considered an __otaku__, I believe that's what they are called." _Kyoya thought.

What was the best gift to impress an otaku? Games or goods relating to anime, manga, that sorta thing. He needed something rare, and difficult to obtain. Whatever commoners could buy easily, would not impress an otaku, who was an heiress. To acquire them, one would think of nowhere except Akihabara.

"_Now, I can't just drive in there with this limousine. That would attract unwanted attention, especially in an area full of commoners, strange ones while we're at it"_

"Stop here and I'll walk there. It's not that far, I will contact you once I have finished" He said to his driver and got out of the car.

Walking into the area of Akihabara, it was full of otakus and other game-fanatics. People dressed in strange cosplay clothes, or just plain regular fashion-less clothes, he wanted to get out of there as quick as possible.

Walking into the store he had searched previously, he bought a limited edition good from the "Ukidoki Memorial" series. It was extremely high priced (for commoners) but a good investment for Kyoya to impress his father's business partner.

Strangely, there was a large swarm of people near the store entrance where there wasn't one before. Trying to make his way through the people, he was attempting to keep his cool.

"_I would be at a disadvantage if I were to start an argument with these people. But what the heck is going on, it wasn't this crowded before"_

And then, he heard music. A woman's voice accompanied by a guitar.

Kyoya had always thought people performed on the street as they were not talented enough to make a living and thus, were hoping for some donations. However, he found himself intrigued and fascinated by this voice.

He pushed through the horde and made his way to see what kind of performance it was that attracted this huge crowd.

And then he saw her.

"_Chance. Well I'll be damned." _Kyoya thought and a small smile appeared.

It was Shiori. Playing with her guitar, and sitting on a carpet type thing. She had a donation box with some pamphlets placed on the floor. Kyoya looked closer, it said they were donations for a hospital for children and some information pamphlets relating to it.

The donation box was accumulating at an exponential rate. It was the perfect spot to attract people.

"_What better place than a place full of nerds and shut-ins who have no other better place to spend money? Especially with the lack of social life, they will most probably be impressed by her looks and easy-going personality. She is quite intelligent. I wonder if those proceeds really __do__ go to the hospital…"_

_

* * *

_After playing for a while, her donation box was completely full and she had stopped playing.

"Thank you all very much for your generous donations, I'm sure it will benefit a lot of children and they will be very grateful for your support. As some of you may know, my name is Shiori. I am here quite regularly to perform and raise donations for different charitable organizations. Please continue to support me and raise awareness" she bowed.

Her contagious smile spread through the crowd and some people put in some last minute donations into the box. She noticed Kyoya and gave him a big smile.

"What did I tell you? Chance works wonders. Doing some shopping?"

"Indeed it does. I was just buying a gift and as I attempted to make it through the crowd, I found you instead of the exit"

"I see. Well, I must get going. Have to bring these donations to the hospital"

Kyoya's thought of doubt reappeared once more. In his world, everyone did things for a reason, to gain some sort of merit. Her performance here brought no merit to her unless she was expecting a scout (which was unlikely at Akihabara) or the money. He couldn't believe that someone were to go out of their way, if there was zero merits in the end.

"Which hospital are you going to? I'll take you there" Kyoya offered.

"Oh, I don't want to be a bother. I'll be fine on my own"

"It's not a problem. I finished shopping earlier than I expected, I have time"

"Are you sure, it's quite far from here…"

"_So maybe it is a scandal, why else would she be so reluctant for the ride? _he thought to himself.

"It's fine. According to you, it was by chance that we met again. Rare incident indeed, why not make the most of it?"

"Alright. And you say I'M stubborn" she smiled.

* * *

Kyoya decided in order to test if she were scamming money from the locals, he should not reveal that he was rich. It would not make much sense. Thus, instead of calling for his limo, he took her in a cab instead.

Strange enough, it really was relatively far and Shiori even offered to pay for the cab. But until he saw that she donated the money with his own eyes, he wasn't convinced of such true, good intentions.

They walked into a small hospital, and Shiori was greeted by many members of staff.

"Hey Shiori! Here again? Just go ahead" a receptionist said.

"Okay! Kyoya, do you mind just waiting here for a bit? I just need to give this to the director and will be right back" Shiori asked.

"Sure"

With that, Shiori walked into the hallway behind the counter. The receptionist looked at Kyoya curiously.

"So are you her boyfriend? You must be quite the lucky guy"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm afraid not. Why would you say so?"

"Shiori is the sweetest girl in the world. Any guy should be lucky to have her. She comes here quite often either with donations from her street performance, or when she's busy, she donates her own money"

"I see. That's interesting to hear"

"Oh, she's coming back out. You better take good care of her" the receptionist winked.

"I just said I'm not_…_oh never mind" Kyoya mumbled.

* * *

With all this new information coming into his mind, Kyoya had a lot to think about. He had never seen a person who had done something without expecting the smallest of return. Everyone he knew reviewed their actions with rationale and weighted their action based on a merit or cost. Even Tamaki, who acts irrationally half the time, knew about this rule of life.

"_She really is a strange one. Unpredictable in every way possible. She is like a mystery, the more you unveil, the more astounded you become by the unexpected."_

While Kyoya's mind was in space, the receptionist pulled Shiori closer and whispered,

"I like your new boyfriend. A good snatch, what a looker too! Hold on to this one"

"No no no no no, it's not like that!" Shiori blushed and stammered.

Her loud stammering snapped Kyoya back to stare at the situation, causing Shiori to blush even more. Clueless to what was going on, Kyoya raised an eyebrow but simply got a wink from the receptionist in return.

"Sorry for making you wait. Would you like to go to a nearby café and grab a bite?" Shiori asked apologetically, trying to avoid eye contact still embarrassed.

"It'll be my treat, I still owe you for last time"

Before she could retort, Kyoya sternly added "Don't even start". And with that, she shut her mouth, beamed and pointed in the direction in which the café would be.

* * *

They had sat down in the cafe, and had placed their orders. It was a rather awkward silence, where neither of them were talking. Shiori couldn't take it anymore.

"Kyoya? Helloo? Are you mentally here too or just physically?" She giggled.

"I'm just pondering, what possible reasons you may have to perform on a street corner"

"You could have just asked instead of torturing your brain! Let it rest every once in a while, remember?"

"Oh yes. I remember the exact phrase was 'Stop using that brain of yours', was it not?"

Shiori playfully punched Kyoya on his arm and laughed.

"I love performing on the street, music is a huge part of my life. I could never live a moment without it. Why not benefit other people while I'm at it?"

"Yes. I understand the definition of 'donations'. What I don't understand is, what is your motivation to do such a merit-less action?"

"It's not merit-less! I love the atmosphere. It's a source of pride that a complete stranger appreciates your music just for your music, no influences. Kind of like how you showed up to listen before you even saw me, or knew it was me" She explained.

"It seems you have a complex of prejudice or biasness. Do you have somebody that you are being compared to or something?"

"Just some family issues. I want friends to like me simply for who I am. Not to be biased by any other factors, just me. Like how we met by chance, so there is no way for you to pre-judge me on anything because you still don't know anything about my background but we're still getting to know each other. We can be friends this way right?"

"Sure"

"I'm going to trust you on this, that you respect my way"

With that she held out her pinky and looped Kyoya's into hers. She gave him the biggest and warmest smile he had ever seen. She really was beautiful when she smiled like that.

"Friends" she added.

Kyoya gave a slight nod of his head. He didn't really know how to react. He had never been in such situations before. A "friend" that he most probably had no merit in gaining. But yet, he agreed to her childish actions. She ensured a great deal of trust into him, and somehow he felt like he should return the favour. There really was something intriguing about her.

* * *

**I realize its been an awfully long time since I've updated. Haven't really thought about it for a while. Got a review today that made me feel bad since I actually had someone reading it =) So here, it's not the greatest but its within the general vicinity of how i want the story to go.**


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